DISPLAY APPARATUS AND STREAMING TRANSPORTING METHOD OF THE SAME
Disclosed is a display apparatus, including: a content processor which processes a first media content from among a plurality of media contents; a communication unit which communicates with a plurality of terminals; and a controller which assigns a first address to the first media content in response to a request for the first media content, and controls the communication unit to stream the first media content processed by the content processor to a first terminal, based on the assigned first address.
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This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0000253, filed on Jan. 4, 2010 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a display apparatus and a streaming transporting method of the same, and more particularly, to a display apparatus and a streaming transporting method of the same which streams a content.
2. Description of the Related Art
Streaming refers to a transportation of content, e.g., at least one of a video and an audio, from a server to a client in a network such as the Internet. The server divides the content into packets to transport the video through the network. The client recombines the divided content and reproduces the content. The receiving and reproduction of the packets occur at the same time. The series of related packets are called streams.
The streaming is different from a simple transportation of a file to be reproduced after a completion of transportation of the entire content in that the client reproduces the content while receiving the content. The client reproduces the content while receiving packets and dismisses the reproduced data. Protocols such as Hyper Text Transport Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP), and Real-time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) are used to stream files. The HTTP and the FTP are file transmission protocols in nature while the RTP and the RTSP are real-time file streaming protocols.
The RTP is used in the related art to transport files in real-time, though recently, the HTTP has been designated as a basic streaming protocol in Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) AV/Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) due to its simplicity and convenience.
SUMMARYAccordingly, one or more exemplary embodiments provide a display apparatus and a streaming transporting method thereof which streams a media content efficiently.
Another exemplary embodiment provides a display apparatus and a streaming transporting method thereof which prevents a user's misunderstanding even if a media content is changed.
Still another exemplary embodiment provides a display apparatus and a streaming transporting method thereof which provides a user interface (UI) to accept an existing user's selection if a media content is changed.
According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided a display apparatus, including: a content processor which processes a first media content, of a plurality of media contents; a communication unit which communicates with a plurality of terminals; and a controller which assigns a first address to the first media content in response to a request for the first media content, and streams the first media content processed by the content processor to a first terminal, of the plurality of terminals, based on the first address.
The controller may assign a second address, which is different from the first address, to a second media content, which is different from the first media content, in response to a request for a streaming of the second media content by another a second terminal, of the plurality of terminals.
The controller may stream the second media content processed by the content processor to the second terminal based on the second address and may suspend the streaming of the first media content to the first terminal.
The controller may transmit notification information on a change of requested media content to the first terminal receiving the first media content if the streaming of the second media content is requested for.
The display apparatus may further include a broadcasting receiver which receives the media content.
The content processor may reduce a resolution of a received media content.
The display apparatus may further include an additional content processor, wherein the controller may control the additional content processor to stream the second media content to the second terminal requesting the second media content based on the second address.
The display apparatus may further include at least two content receivers which receive the media content.
According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there is provided a display apparatus, including: a content processor which processes first and second media contents; a communication unit which communicates with a plurality of terminals; and a controller which streams the first media content to a first terminal, of the plurality of terminals, streams the second media content, which is different from the first media content, to a second terminal, of the plurality of terminals requesting the second media content in response to a request for the streaming of the second media content by the second terminal, and controls the content processor to suspend the streaming of first the media content to the first terminal in response to the streaming of the second media content.
The controller may assign a first address to the first media content and may stream the first media content based on the first address, and may assign a second address, different from the first address, to the second media content and suspends the streaming of the first media content to the first terminal in response to the request for the streaming of the second media content.
According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there is provided a streaming transporting method of a display apparatus which communicates with a plurality of terminals, the method including: assigning a first address to a first media content among a plurality of media contents in response to a request for the first media content; processing the first media content to be streamed; and streaming the first media content to a first terminal of the plurality of terminals based on the first address.
The method may further include assigning a second address, which is different from the first address, to a second media content, which is different from the first media content, in response to a request for a streaming of the second media content from the second terminal, of the plurality of terminals; and streaming the second media content to the second terminal requesting the second media content based on the second address.
The assigning the second address may include suspending the streaming of the first media content to the first terminal receiving the first media content.
The method may further include transmitting notification information on a change of requested media content to the first terminal receiving the first media content.
The processing the first media content may include reducing a resolution of a received media content.
According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there is provided a streaming transporting method of a display apparatus which communicates with a plurality of terminals, the method comprising: assigning a first address to a first media content, among a plurality of media contents provided by the display apparatus, in response to a request for the first media content; streaming the first media content to the first terminal based on the first address; and suspending the streaming the first media content to the first terminal in response to an assigning of a second address, different from the first address, to a second media content requested by a second terminal.
The above and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Below, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings so as to be easily realized by a person having ordinary knowledge in the art. The exemplary embodiments may be embodied in various forms without being limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Descriptions of well-known parts are omitted for clarity, and like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list.
The communication unit 110 discovers at least one of the terminals 210, 220, 230 and 240 according to a control of the controller 140, and performs a communication to stream a media content according to a request from the terminals 210, 220, 230 and 240. The communication unit 110 may include one or more communication modules corresponding to at least one of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, infrared (IR) communication, radio frequency (RF) communication and other various communication methods. Middleware which supports a home networking to share a digital content such as music, photos and video stored in an electronic device including a computer, electric home appliances and a portable terminal includes Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), Home Audio Video Interoperability (HaVi), Jini, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), etc. The display apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment streams a media content to the terminals 210, 220, 230 and 240 through a protocol such as Hyper Text Transport Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) and Real-time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).
The content receiver 120 may include at least one of various interfaces, a connector or a receiver to receive a media content from a storage unit storing therein the media content. For example, the content receiver 120 may receive an RF signal in a wireless manner from a broadcasting station (not shown) or an image signal according to composite video, component video, super video, SCART, and High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI). Furthermore, the content receiver 120 may receive an RGB signal through D-subminiature according to Video Graphics Array (VGA) or an image signal through Digital Video Interface (DVI) and HDMI.
The content processor 130 processes an image signal received by the content receiver 120 using various preset methods. The processing of the signal by the content processor 130 may include at least one of decoding, encoding, deinterlacing, converting of a frame rate, scaling, reducing noise for improvement of image quality and detail enhancing, though it is understood that another exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto.
The content processor 130 may reduce a resolution of a media content when stream-transporting the media content to the terminals 210, 220, 230 and 240. For example, the content processor 130 may reduce a high definition (HD) resolution to a standard definition (SD) resolution of an image signal. The display apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment stream-transports a media content to be reproduced in real-time by the terminals 210, 220, 230 and 240 and, thus, a volume of the data transmission may be an issue in reproducing the media content. To ensure prompt transmission of data and reliability of image reproduction, the content processor 130 may reduce the resolution of the image and stream the image to the terminals 210, 220, 230 and 240.
The content processor 130 may include individual configurations to independently perform each process or a single configuration combining operations. The display apparatus 100 may include a single content processor 130, though it is understood that another exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto.
The controller 140 assigns a first address to a first media content among a plurality of media contents, stream-transports the first media content processed by the content processor 130 to at least one of the plurality of terminals 210, 220, 230 and 240 based on the first address, and assigns a second address, different from the first address, to a second media content, different from the first media content, upon a request for the second media content from another one of the plurality of terminals 210, 220, 230 and 240.
As described above, the display apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment stream-transports data to the terminals 210, 220, 230 and 240 based on a protocol such as HTTP, FTP, RTP and RTSP under the middleware such as UPnP or DLNA. Referring to
Referring to
If the first terminal 210 as a first client requests the first media content from the display apparatus 100 as a server(S20), the display apparatus 100 assigns the first address to the first media content (S30), and streams the first address information to the first terminal 210. As shown therein, if the first terminal 210 requests, as the first media content, a media content corresponding to a channel 11-1 among broadcasting signals (SetSecondTVChannel (11-1)), the controller 140 generates a first address corresponding to the channel 11-1 (OK.URL: http//10.10.10:8001/11-1a.mpg) in response to the request. The address information refers to an address of an internal server for the first terminal 210 to browse the first media content (i.e., channel 11-1). The controller 140 generates address information for each of the media contents to identify the media contents.
The first terminal 210 requests the display apparatus 100 to stream-transport the first media content based on the received first address (HTTP GET http://10.10.10.1:8001/11-1a.mpg) (S40).
The display apparatus 100 streams the first media content to the first terminal 210 according to a predetermined format in response to the request of the first terminal 210 (HTTP RESP) (S50). For example, the first media content is changed into packets in a body and then streamed. The above expressions of the address information and expressions for the transmission of the first media content are merely exemplary, and another exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto.
The second terminal 220 is connected to the display apparatus 100 in a network while the first media content is being stream-transported to the first terminal 210. The second terminal 220 and the display apparatus 100 also discover and communicate with each other (S60).
If a media content which the second terminal 220 requests for is a channel 9-1 rather than the channel 11-1, i.e., if the second terminal 220 requests a second media content different from the first media content (SetSecondTVChannel (9-1)) (S70), the controller 140 assigns the second address, different from the first address, to the second media content (OK.URL: http://10.10.10.1:8001/9-1a.mpg) (S80). The controller 140 transmits the newly-assigned second address information to the second terminal 220. The second terminal 220 requests the display apparatus 100 to stream-transport the second media content corresponding to the second address information (HTTP GET http ://10.10.10.1:8001/9-1a.mpg) (S90).
The controller 140 stream-transports the content of the channel 9-1 as the second media content to the second terminal 220 in response to the request of the second terminal 220 (HTTP RESP) (S 100).
The display apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a single content processor 130, and stream-transports the media content according to a most recent request if a plurality of clients requests the media content. In this case, the controller 140 generates a new address whenever the media content is requested and informs the terminals of the new address.
In contrast, if a related art controller assigns one address whenever a content is requested, regardless of a number of different media contents, a first terminal may misunderstand that it receives the previously-requested media content even though it actually receives the changed media content. For example, in the related art system, since the channel 11-1 and the channel 9-1 have the same address, a second terminal as well as a first terminal receive a broadcasting signal from the channel 9-1 if the second terminal changes the channel from 11-1 to 9-1. A user of the first terminal may mistakenly believe that the user is viewing the channel 11-1 that the user has requested even though the first terminal receives the media content of the channel 9-1. Furthermore, all of the address information which may be provided by the display apparatus may be provided to the terminals and the terminals may request a content according to particular address information. In this case, the possibility of errors due to the plurality of address information increases, and the possibility of cut media contents increases if a plurality of terminals is connected.
In contrast, if a request for a media content different from the currently streamed media content is received, the display apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment generates a new and valid address and assigns the new address to the media content to thereby prevent misunderstanding in the streaming of the media content and to manage the address of the media content efficiently. Since the address for the streaming of the media content is changed from the first address to the second address, the media content is no longer streamed to the first terminal 210.
If the first terminal 210 attempts to stream the media content again (S40), the display apparatus 100 determines that the first address requested by the first terminal 210 is invalid (S110), and suspends streaming to the channel 11-1.
If it is determined that the first address is not valid for the first media content requested again by the first terminal 210, the controller 140 transmits error information informing an inability to stream the first media content or notification information notifying the change of the media content to the first terminal 210 (S120). The error information or notification information may be output as at least one of a video, a still image, and an audio. A user may recognize the media content changed by others through the information as above. Moreover, if a plurality terminals receive the first media content, the notification information may be transmitted to the plurality of terminals.
According to another exemplary embodiment, a terminal which may not receive the media content any more may generate the notification information or the error information instead of the display apparatus 100.
If the second terminal 220 requests the first media content which is the same as the media content requested by the first terminal 210 following the request of the first media content by the first terminal 210 (SetSecondTVChannel (11-1)) (S71), the controller 140 assigns the first address corresponding to the channel 11-1 in response to the request (OK.URL: http://10.10.10.1:8001/11-1a.mpg) (S81). That is, the display apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment assigns the address to the media content whenever the media content is requested for instead of generating the address corresponding to the media content and transmitting the address to the terminal when initiating the communication with the terminals 210 and 220.
The second terminal 220 requests the display apparatus 100 to stream-transport the first media content based on the received first address (HTTP GET http://10.10.10.1:8001/11-1a.mpg) (S91). The display apparatus 100 stream-transports the first media content to the second terminal 220 according to the predetermined format in response to the request of the second terminal 220 (S101).
If the media content which is currently displayed in the display apparatus 100 is newly requested, the signal which is transmitted from the terminal to the display apparatus 100 is not limited to that as shown in
If the request of the second media content by the second terminal 220 is received, the controller 140 transmits the information on the change of the media content to the first terminal 210 (S130).
If the first terminal transmits the signal permitting the change of the media content (S 140), the controller 140 transmits the second address to the second terminal 220 (S80).
The display apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment takes into account a user of the first terminal 210 which requests the first media content prior to the request of the second media content, and transmits the user interface information as above to balance the streaming of the media contents among the plurality of terminals 210 and 220.
If the first terminal 210 transmits the signal rejecting the change of the media content, the controller 140 may transmit a signal informing inability to stream-transport the media content to the second terminal 220 to maintain the streaming of the first media content.
If a third terminal 230 requests a third media content, which is different from the first and second media contents, the controller 140 may assign a third address to the third media content and suspend the streaming to either the first terminal 210 or the second terminal 220. In this case, the controller 140 may transmit a UI to the first terminal 210 or the second terminal 220 whether to receive the information on the change of the media content or to permit the change of the media content.
Exemplary embodiments assign a preset number of variable and valid addresses according to a capability of outputting media contents and stream contents efficiently without using a single or a plurality of fixed addresses.
As described above, a display apparatus and a streaming transporting method of the same according to an exemplary embodiment stream a media content efficiently. Also, a display apparatus and a streaming transporting method of the same according to another exemplary embodiment prevent a user's misunderstanding even if a media content is changed. Further, a display apparatus and a streaming transporting method of the same according to another exemplary embodiment provide a user interface (UI) to accept an existing user's selection if a media content is changed.
While not restricted thereto, exemplary embodiments can also be embodied as computer-readable code on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is any data storage device that can store data that can be thereafter read by a computer system. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and optical data storage devices. The computer-readable recording medium can also be distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the computer-readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. Also, exemplary embodiments may be written as computer programs transmitted over a computer-readable transmission medium, such as a carrier wave, and received and implemented in general-use or special-purpose digital computers that execute the programs. Moreover, while not required in all aspects, one or more units of the display apparatus 100 or 101 can include a processor or microprocessor executing a computer program stored in a computer-readable medium.
Although a few exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these exemplary embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A display apparatus, comprising:
- a content processor which processes a first media content from among a plurality of media contents;
- a communication unit which communicates with a plurality of terminals; and
- a controller which assigns a first address to the first media content in response to a request for the first media content, and controls the communication unit to stream the first media content processed by the content processor to a first terminal, of the plurality of terminals, based on the assigned first address.
2. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller assigns a second address, which is different from the first address, to a second media content, which is different from the first media content, in response to a request for the second media content by a second terminal.
3. The display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller controls the communication unit to suspend the streaming of the first media content to the first terminal in response to the assigning of the second address to the second media content, and controls the communication unit to stream the second media content processed by the content processor to the second terminal based on the assigned second address.
4. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller transmits notification information on a change of requested media content to the first terminal receiving the first media content in response to a request for second media content, which is different from the first media content, by a second terminal, which is different from the first terminal.
5. The display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a broadcasting receiver which receives the first media content.
6. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content processor reduces a resolution of the first media content before the communication unit streams the first media content to the first terminal.
7. The display apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an additional content processor, wherein the controller controls the additional content processor to process the second stream and controls the communication unit to stream the second media content to the second terminal, in response to a request for the streaming of the second media content based on the assigned second address, simultaneous with the streaming of the first media content to the first terminal.
8. The display apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a first content receiver which receives the first media content and a second content receiver which receives the second media content.
9. The display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein in response to a request for another streaming of the first media content by the first terminal after the communication unit streams the second media content to the second terminal, the controller transmits error information to the first terminal.
10. The display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, if the first terminal does not permit the streaming of the second media content in response to the notification information, the controller does not assign a second address to the second media content and does not control the communication unit to stream the second media content to the second terminal.
11. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller assigns the first address to the first media content in response to a request for the first media content by a second terminal, different from the first terminal.
12. A display apparatus, comprising:
- a content processor which processes a first media content and a second media, different from the first media content, from among a plurality of media contents;
- a communication unit which communicates with a plurality of terminals; and
- a controller which controls the communication unit to stream the processed first media content to a first terminal, of the plurality of terminals, to stream the processed second media content to a second terminal, of the plurality of terminals, in response to a request for the streaming of the second media content by the second terminal, and controls the communication unit to suspend the streaming of the processed first media content to the first terminal in response to the streaming of the second media content.
13. The display apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the controller assigns a first address to the first media content and controls the communication unit to stream the processed first media content based on the first address, and assigns a second address, different from the first address, to the second media content and controls the communication unit to stream the processed second media content based on the second address.
14. A streaming transporting method of a display apparatus which communicates with a plurality of terminals, the method comprising:
- assigning a first address to a first media content in response to a request for the first media content;
- processing the first media content to be streamed; and
- streaming the first media content to a first terminal, from among the plurality of terminals, based on the first address.
15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:
- assigning a second address, which is different from the first address, to a second media content, which is different from the first media content, in response to a request for the second media content from a second terminal, of the plurality of terminals; and
- streaming the second media content to the second terminal based on the second address.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the assigning the second address comprises suspending the streaming of the first media content to the first terminal.
17. The method according to claim 14, further comprising transmitting notification information on a change of requested media content to the first terminal receiving the first media content in response to a request for second media content, which is different from the first media content, by a second terminal, which is different from the first terminal.
18. The method according to claim 14, wherein the processing the first media content comprises reducing a resolution of the first media content prior to the streaming the first media content to the first terminal.
19. A computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program executable by a computer for performing the method of claim 14.
20. A streaming transporting method of a display apparatus which communicates with a plurality of terminals, the method comprising:
- assigning a first address to a first media content, among a plurality of media contents provided by the display apparatus, in response to a request for the first media content;
- streaming the first media content to the first terminal based on the first address; and
- suspending the streaming the first media content to the first terminal in response to an assigning of a second address, different from the first address, to a second media content requested by a second terminal.
21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the first address is not a fixed address.
22. A computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program executable by a computer for performing the method of claim 20.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 18, 2010
Publication Date: Jul 7, 2011
Applicant: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. (Suwon-si)
Inventor: Hyo-dae KIM (Yongin-si)
Application Number: 12/906,265
International Classification: G06F 15/16 (20060101);